Premier, TAC and police tackle road toll together

23 Nov 2011

MEDIA RELEASE: Wednesday 23 November 2011

Premier Ted Baillieu today launched the Transport Accident Commission's Christmas campaign on the steps of Parliament calling on Victorian drivers to harness their grief over recent tragic multiple fatalities by committing to safe driving.

"The past few weeks of tragedies have further highlighted the importance of making every journey a safe one, especially in the lead-up to Christmas," Mr Baillieu said.

"With several tragic multiple fatality crashes on our minds, now is the time to talk to loved ones about the dangers of risky driving and the importance of road safety.

"Holiday periods produce high volumes of traffic on Victoria's major highways and arterial roads, often involving a change in travel patterns and use of unfamiliar roads.

"It's up to every road user to take responsibility for safety on our roads. I urge you to have a conversation with your family and friends about reducing their risk on the roads, so we can all have a safe holiday period," Mr Baillieu said.

Historically, the last 12 days of the year has resulted in the highest number of road fatalities per day.

The TAC "Signs" campaign will support the boost in police activity, warning drivers there will be extra police attention on the roads in the lead-up to the holiday season.

The Premier was joined by Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe and TAC Senior Manager Road Safety and Marketing John Thompson at the launch.

Victoria Police will be running Operation Summer Stay which includes breath-testing thousands of drivers and patrols on major and minor roads across the state. Police will be backed by the TAC campaign targeting speeding and drink and drug driving and reminding drivers "Don't Risk It".

"Today marks the start of a busy summer for the TAC with a number of initiatives being rolled out to keep the road toll down," Mr Thompson said.

"A new drink drive campaign is in production for launch before the peak Christmas party season.

"The TAC's big party bus Vanessa is also visiting music festivals across the state, social media campaigns are continuing to engage young people and breath-testing at country races are just some of the other activities rolling out over summer," Mr Thompson said.